Spring bed-bottom



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet l. C. H. FITCH.

SPRING BED BOTTOM.

No. 371,497. Patented oon. 11, 1887.v rv N DN WITNESSES Y N AIVEJVTOR' wI 2Q-w A No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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Attorney N. PETER: "warnings-1pm. mmmmmmmmm c.

(No Model.)

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C. H. FITCH.

SPRING BBD BOTTOM.y y

N0. 371,497. Papented`00t'. 11,1887.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CALVIN H. FITCH, OF MIDDLETOWN SPRINGS, VERMONT.

SPRING BED-BOTTOM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 371,497, dated October11l 1887.

Application filed August 29, 1884. Serial No. 141,639.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CALVIN H. FITCH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Middletown Springs, in the county ofRutland and State ofVermont, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in SpringBed-Bottoms, of which thefollowing is afnll, clear, and exactdescription.

This invention relates to the class of spring bed-bottoms represented inmy Letters Patent No. 252,654, dated January 24, 1882, No. 274,925,dated April 3,1883, and No. 304:,717, dated September 9, 1884. As aclass theseinventions may be called suspension-bottom beds, for in allof them the web or bottom proper is sustained above the frame and at itsends only. The object in so suspending the bottom is to make the bedmore comfortable to the user and prevent contact with the woodwork ofthe frame. In all of these patents the bed-bottom is applied by hookingit to the springs at one end, and then moving the opposite end of theframe toward the first-named end, hooking the other end of the bottom tosuch end, and then, using such end as a lever, by depression bringingthe bottom out taut. Obviously,the frames in these patents are not rigidthroughout all their parts atall times, and experience has shown me thatit is of prime importance to avoid all movable parts and adjustments inthis class of' beds. A series of experiments made by me havedemonstrated the advisability of still further modications of theoriginal plan set forth in my first-named patent, and the presentinvention is the practical reduction of such experiments.

The invention is comprehended in a construction, substantially ashereinafter s'et forth and claimed, whereby the greatest effectivelength of the web or bottom proper is obtained, and also the obviatingof stretch, and consequently the dispensing with bottom tightening ortake-up devices is had and a stronger and handsomer bed secured.

In the accompanying drawings, in the several figures of which like partsare similarly designated, Figure 1 is a top plan View of two corners ofthe same side of the bed. Fig. 2 is a side elevation, with one end invertical section, on the line x x, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a similar view of amodification, and Fig. 4is aplan (No model.)

view of a preferred construct-ion of bottom proper and othermodifications.

The frame is composed of' side rails, a, and

superposed end rails, b b, the corners of the k several rails beingrounded, and the said rails being secured by vertical bolts c, androunded, ornamental, or other pieces or castings, d. These corner-piecesare shaped, substantially as shown, to embrace the side rails and endrails on their heads and sides, and each rail has a screw, f g and h t',respectively, passed through the corner-piece into its head and side, soas to make, in conjunction with the vertical bolts, a most solid andfirm fastening. Furthermore,therounding of the corners takes away thesharp angles heretofore common in bed-bottoms and adapts them to a styleof round-cornered bedsteads now more or less common, and as I make mymetal cornerpieces preferably quite ornamental, and gild or`nickelpla`tethem or make them of brass, a very novel and pleasing effect is producedin addition to their mechanical excellence.V

The side and end rails are each made of a single piece,in order tosecure that stability of the frame I deem absolutely essential for thislatest form of my invention, for I design to have said frame perfectlyrigid in every member. The end rails are set at the extreme ends of theside rails, as shown, and these end rails receive the springs j. Thesprings shown in Figs. 1 and 2 are of the doublecoil pattern, with theup and over stretching hook portion lc and the fastening ends l, whichlast, as shown in Fig. 2, are driven at less than a right angle into theend rails as near their outermost edges as will leave sufficient stockto sustain them, and so as to get the effective ends of the springs asnear the extreme limits of the frame as possible. A spring or springsprovided with a bar or series of bars for each or several of' thesprings arranged in their coils is now common; but around said bar orbars I place a covering, preferably of rubber, or I may make the barwholly of such material or substance. The

office of this bar is to hold the springs in position and to retaintheir shapes, and the function of my covering to the bar is to givegreater resilience to the springs and to impart to the springs a freer,easier, and softer action than came into direct contact with a hard orunyielding substance like wood or iron, or that will have the effect toobviate noise or squeaki ing.A The covering around the rod, it isobvious, may either extend continuously the whole length of the rod, asshown in Fig. 1, or may be confined tothose portions within the springsonly, leaving space between the springs bare, as shown in Fig. 4; and Iattach much importance to this feature of my bed, for I have found it toadd very materially to the comfort' and ease of the same. The rod orrods, and consequently the coils of the springs,are held up out ofcontact with the end rails by braces o, secured to said rails, as byscrews. These braces have their Shanks of such thickness as to form asupport for the rods, and their curved portions extend up from thesame'to engage the bars in the direction of the strain upon the bars andsprings, so that they sub serve the additional purpose of resisting thestrain upon the springs, and thereby rendering and keeping them firm,and preventing them from being pulled 4out of place.

A modified form ofspringis sho'wn in Figs. 3 and 4, and it is the springof my Patent No. 274,925, hereinbefore referred to, it having theforwardly-extended securing ends. With this form of spring the braces o`have a heelpiece, p, for the application of their fastening medium. Withthis form of spring the springs may Lbe set even nearer the extremeouter edges of the end rails than with the other,\and

consequently the web or bottom proper may be made to cover yet more ofthe area or length of the frame.

The bringing of the springs well out to the ends of the frame is afeature of great importance in my invention, for thereby I am enabled tosupport the mattress throughout its full length, thus preventing it fromsagging or dropping onto the Wood-work at either end. The bed is thusmade much easier and more comfortable to the user than has been possiblewith any bed-bottom to me known,'and so far as I am aware theconstruction of the frames of common bedbottoms does not admit of sucharrangement of the springs. They are not braced to this end, and in allforms of bedbottoms of other materialsthan slats there has been ofnecessity some sort of take-up or tension device requiring movement ofone or both end rails to compensate for slack. In my frame both endrails are rigid and immov able, and, as will appear presently, theyieldingness of the bed-bottom proper in my invention is in the springsonly; hence there can be no slack or stretch so long as the springsendure, and at the same time the bottom is so constructed that it may beeasily and quickly taken down and closely packed for shipment orstorage. p

My web or bottom proper is composed of non elastic links r and s and eyeplates t, hooked together and so permanently secured, and without othermovement than a close joint would afford in order to give iexibility.The longitudinal links fr r are in pairs, for strength vand greatersurface to supportthe mattress, and the transverse links s single, andthe bottom terminates at each end in eye-platest and connectingtransverse links s.. There is no stretch or elasticity in such .abottoni, and only sufcient ilexibility to permit a slight movement ofthe connected parts, but sufficient to conform readily to the weight andform ofa person lying upon-it; but even this much flexibility is notabsolutely essential, for I support or suspend this bottom directly uponthe springs, and I design to throw the burden of yielding upon or gainthe spring of the bed solely-from the said end springs, and I make thebottom of just about the length of the distance between the hooked endsof the springs, so that there must be a strain applied to put the bottominV position on the springs. To do this I employ a lever, u, indicatedby dotted lines in Fig. 3, having hooked arms` c, which engage thesecond row of eye-plates, said lever taking the endrail for its fulcrum.Now,the eye-plates are fastened to the springs at one end, and then thelever is used at.the other end to draw up the bottom by the yieldingofthe first-named springs till .the eyeplates atthe end ofthe drawn endshall be inposition to be hooked to the springs at that end. Eacheye-platemay have to be so drawn; but when in position the bottom cannotby any accident short of breakage of the parts be displaced, and havingbeen so put up at the factory or by the dealer the bottom needs nofuture attentionor adjustment on the part of the user.

In Figs. 1, 2, and 3 I have shown a very simple and economical form ofthese links and eye-plates; but I find it advantageous to use the formshown in Fig. 4, wherein the eye-plates t are oblong and have eyes t' ateach corner and intermediate side eyes, t2. The longitudinal links r arein pairs, and engage the end eyes, t', as before, while the transverselinks s engage the side eyes, t2, so as to be more stable in theirconnection with the eye-plates and less liable to displacement. At eachend of the bottom the transverse links are preferably in pairs, one linkof each pair engaging the end eyes, t', and the other the side eyes, t2,to obtain greater strength. The end bar, t", ofthe eye-plate serves toengage the hookof the springs.

In order to present the invention on the largest possible scale withinthe limits of the sheets, I have in the drawings shown only two of thecorners. The opposite corners will be counterparts (lefts where theseare rights) of the parts shown. The bed-bottom proper or web will be ofthe construction indicated throughout. Other common forms of coiledsprings may be used; but I deem the forms shown the most effective. So,also,other forms of links and eye-plates may be used, and single insteadof double links employed in the longitudinal rows of links; or doublelinks throughout may be used. These modifications I deem wholly withinmy invention, and not needful of illustration. I, however, wish itdistinctly understood that I do not herein claim to be the firstinventor of a bed-bottom composed of inflexible longitudinal andcrosslinks joined by rings or other suitable connections-such asperforated circular plates; but my invention, so far as it relates tothe eyeplate, provides an oblong eye-plate having eyes at each cornerand intermediate side eyes, so as to separate the links and preventtheir hooked ends from being hunched together in a small space, asheretofore, thus avoiding a knotty or lumpy appearance and effect in thebed. Furthermore, by my construction of eyeplates, fewer plates to a bedare required, and hence the bed is lighter and less expensive.

For other forms and arrangements ofsprings, eyeplates, and corner-ironsreference is made to my applications for patents, Serial Nos. 158,333and 196,476.

Vhat I claim isn 1. The combination, with the coiled springs, of thecovered rod inserted in their coils, substantially as and for thepurpose described.

2. The combination of the frame, the coiled springs secured thereto andeach provided with a covered rod in its coils, and hooks for supportingthe springs and rods above the frame, substantially as shown anddescribed.

3. The combination, with the rigid frame,

immovable in all its parts, of the attached springs, their covered rods,and the flexible inelastic bed-bottom proper, substantially as setforth.

4. The combination, with the rigid frame, immovable in all its parts, ofthe attached springs, their covered rods, hooks attached to the frameand engaging the rods, and the ilexible inelastic web or bottom proper,substantially as described.

5. The oblong eye-plates t, having eyes t' at each corner andintermediate side eyes, t2, combined with the pairs of longitudinallinks r, engaging the corner eyes, and the single transverse links s,engaging the side eyes, substantially as shown and described.

6. A bed-bottom constructed of a rigid frame having end rails providedwith springs overhanging them and yielding in a vertical direction only,combined with a bottom composed of inelastic eye-plates and independentinelastic links connecting the said eye-plates longitudinally andtransversely, and forming a flexible bottom yielding under a supcrposedload, but without stretch, and of a length equal to the distance betweenthe free ends of the springs on opposite end rails, and applied to suchsprings on one rail loosely by one end and thereafter drawn undertension applied to its other end, and attached to the springs on theother rail while under such tension to suspend the bottom under tensionof the springs by its ends from such springs, substantially as setforth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 26th day ofAugust, A. D. 1884.

CALVIN II. FITCH.

Vitnesses:

A. A. GREENE, A. Y. GRAY.

